Well, you are exhausted. That is to say that questioning has taken you as far as you need to go. You know who is involved, what they want, what they don’t want, and most of all what will get them running right onto the client list of one of your competitors. It is time to start putting together a presentation and showing your soon to be client what you can do for them. Unfortunately, the moment anyone in Sales Training says it’s time to present, sales people are all too ready to go in and give it their all.

Again young Sales Jedi, slow it down. Leave much off the table in your first presentation. Now, do not misinterpret. I hardly mean leave them guessing, or have wholes in your solution. What I mean, is stick to the top level data that will show them how you plan to make things better. Avoid deep dives in your content, and definitely fight the habit to engage in long technical discussion. There is a time for these efforts, it is just not yet. Now look, if you are selling sneakers, this may not be the case; but if you are selling complex or highly competitive goods and services, you need to be thorough at the top before diving into the minutia.

So, paint them a picture, and paint it well. Avoid the abstract, you are DaVinci not Picasso. Clarity is your brush. Just let go of the urge to tell them what type of paint you used, and how you mixed it. They do not need to know where you bought your canvas or what pressure you stretched it to before adding the Gesso. This will come in good time; the next set of meetings and the next post.

Until then, stick to the value you are providing. Discuss the ways your offer addresses their business needs. Let them ask about anything and everything, but think about how long it will take to answer a question. If it is not relevant to the what, but more in touch with the how, then let them know it will all be explained in good time. Encourage the techies to break out and learn from your techies. Encourage the analysts to talk to your product managers. You want to stare down those executives and stakeholders, and ensure that they see your offering in their hands soon.